Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said Tuesday that he wants to start enforcing a city rule against masking in public places, which he sees as a local tool the city can deploy against gun violence.
Greenberg’s announcement comes two days after two teenagers were shot in a parking lot Sunday night during a football game at Pleasure Ridge Park High School. One of the victims was critically injured.
The mayor said the suspects in the shooting wore “surgical masks and other face coverings to conceal their identity.”
“This is not an isolated incident. LMPD officers see, time and time again, when assailants and trigger-pullers are wearing masks to conceal their identity,” he said at a press conference Tuesday. “Shooters who are exploiting protections that were put in place during COVID.”
That’s why, he said, he wants to start enforcing a Louisville ordinance, originally established in 1983, that says no one in a public place – such as streets and government-owned parks and buildings – can wear a mask that covers “a substantial portion” of their face “so as to conceal the identity of the wearer.”
Greenberg said he doesn’t think the ordinance has been enforced at least since the COVID-19 pandemic emerged. Now, he said his administration intends to begin enforcing this ordinance again.
Violating the rule is considered a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $100, imprisonment for up to 50 days or both.
“It’s all governments’ job to adapt. To adapt and to find new tools at your disposal to improve public safety. To make our city safer, stronger and healthier,” Greenberg said. “I have an incredible sense of urgency of … using every tool we possibly can to address this gun violence epidemic that we have, balancing public health and public safety.”
He does think the ordinance needs to be updated, in light of COVID-19 and public health concerns, and said his administration will discuss that with Louisville Metro Council.
The anti-mask ordinance already allows certain exceptions, such as children under 16 years old and people who publicly wear masks necessary for physical safety during work activities or sporting events.
People have widely used medical or surgical masks to protect themselves against COVID-19, and Kentucky's state government temporarily required people to wear masks in public to reduce transmission of the coronavirus.
Today, some people – including immunocompromised and elderly individuals – still wear masks in public spaces to protect their health.
Greenberg said they’ll take “everyone’s personal and public health very seriously” and will address that through amendments to the ordinance.
“But let’s be clear: Gun violence is a public health emergency that we are dealing with in our city,” he said. “Over 100 individuals already this year have been killed by gun violence. … And when there are tools that we have that we can use to reduce the amount of gun violence, it is critically important that we take every action to implement them.”
Later Tuesday afternoon, Greenberg’s spokesperson, Kevin Trager, said in an emailed statement that the Louisville Metro Police Department believes enforcing the city’s mask ordinance would be an important tool for preventing gun violence and apprehending people who commit violent crimes.
“This ordinance currently includes many important exemptions, but right now it does not include an exemption for public health,” Trager wrote. “The mayor plans to partner with Metro Council to amend this ordinance to protect individuals who need to wear masks outdoors for health reasons."
Trager said the changes “will not impact indoor mask-wearing.”
He provided the following comment from Greenberg: “If you are wearing a mask outdoors for health reasons, continue wearing it to protect yourself and your health.”
Other places in the U.S. have old anti-masking laws on the books. New ones also have popped up as elected officials cite concerns about crime – such as a ban on ski masks in Philadelphia and a broader mask ban in Nassau County, New York.
Disability rights and civil rights advocates have criticized mask bans and raised related concerns about public health, discrimination, racial profiling and privacy rights.
For example, the ACLU published a post in May that said anti-mask rules have been used to target protesters, including during recent demonstrations on college campuses by people who oppose Israel’s siege, bombardment and ground invasion of Gaza.
This story has been updated with additional information.
